Apparatus for making blocks



APPARATUS FOR MAKING BLOCKS Filed Feb. 4, 1957 Fla].

a n4 /7 [A ----1-/) Patented Feb. 21, 1939 APPARATUS FOR MAKING BLOCKS Joseph Gaskell, St. Helena, England, assignor to Pllkin gton Brothers Limited, Li

verpool, England, a registered company Application February 4, 1937, Serial No. 123,991 in Great Britain February 5, 19:6

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for making blocks from pulverulent material and has for its object a process and apparatus for compressing the material into a compact and homogeneous mass.

If pulverulent material is put into a mould and pressure applied to it, this pressure is not fully transmitted through the mass and, consequently, the block formed is less compact at the bottom (assuming the pressure to be applied vertically) than at the top. This is found to be the case whether the pressure applied is steady or is variable, as when the mould is jolted.

According to the invention, the mould walls are movable relatively to both the mould bottom and the mould top and to the material between the bottom and the top, and pressure is applied to the material tending to compress it, while the mould bottom and superincumbent material is jolted. The mould walls may be supported yieldingly, as by springs, relatively to the mould bottom, or means may be provided adapted to limit the movement of the mould walls relative to the mould bottom, the means being adjustable 35 so as successively to alter the limit to the said movement. The mould bottom and superincumbent material may be jolted while the mould walls are maintained in a fixed position relatively to the mould bottom, and then again jolted 30 while the mould walls are free to move into a lower position relative to the mould bottom.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a vertical section of a block compressing apparatus through the line A-A of 35 Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the mould through the line BB of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a part section similar to that of Figure 1, showing an alternative form.

40 Referring tothe drawing, the mould is composed of two side walls l with base 2, and two side walls 3 adapted to be bolted to the side walls I by bolts 4. The mould so formed is adapted to slide over the mould bottom 5, with base 5a,

which rests on a jolting device of any convenient construction. The jolting device shown, which is of known construction, consists of the piston 6 in the casing I, with valve box 8 and valve 9. The valve 9 being open, as shown, air

50 enters by the pipe to, passes through the pipe II, and through the passage I! in the piston 5 to the space below the piston. As the piston rises, the valve 9 also rises to close, by reason of air passing through the small passage 13 to 65 the space below the valve. The piston rises until the passage l2 opens to the exhaust port ll, to release the air pressure below the piston. It then falls and opens the valve 9 by the pin Ii. A heavy mass of metal i6 is adapted to slide in the mould, forming the top of the mould and. by 5 its inertia, as well as by its static weight, to compress the material in the mould. For convenience in construction, plates I1 and II, made to fit the mould closely, are placed above and below the material respectively. In the form of 10 the apparatus shown in Figure 1, the mould is supported on the base 5a by four springs l9 between the bases 2 and 5a.

In operation, the mould is placed over the base 5, resting on the springs 19, and the plate I! is inserted into it. The mould is then filled with material and the jolting device is operated to cause the material to settle in the mould. The plate I! is then inserted and above it the mass l6, and the jolting device is then operated. As a result of the jolting, the whole apparatus, including mould walls I and 3, base 5 with plate I1 and mass 16 with plate i8, is raised repeatedly and allowed to fall. The base 5 receives a jolt by falling on the rigid base formed by the piston 6 contacting with the casing l, but the mould walls I and 3 have their fall arrested by the springs l9, and the walls therefore compress the springs at the end of their fall and, in so doing, move downwards relatively to the mould bottom and the superincumbent material, which is supported thereon. It is found that, in consequence of this downward movement of the walls relative to the material, the pressure applied to the top of the mass of material is transmitted substantially in full to the lowest layers of the material.

In the alternative form of apparatus shown in Figure 3, the mould walls are supported on the base 50. by distance pieces 20, and the apparatus is then jolted. The distance pieces 20 are then replaced by shorter distance pieces, and the apparatus is again jolted. During the latter 'jolting, the mould walls gradually descend until they rest on the distance pieces. The distance pieces can then be replaced by still shorter ones, and so on, until the mould walls have reached the base 51:. The series of distance pieces may be replaced by any convenient adjustable means, such as screw stops.

Alternatively, when the friction between the material already compressed by jolting and the mould walls is such that the mould walls descend only veryslowly, the jolting may be continued uninterruptedly, after the full-length distance resting freely on the mould top and a jolting device by which the mould bottom is raised and then allowed to fall and a yielding connection between the mould bottom and the mould walls of a stillness suflicient substantially to prevent 5 relative movement between the mould walls and the mould bottom during the rising movement of the mould bottom but insumcient to prevent such relative movement when the fall of the mould bottom is arrested.

JOSEPH GASKELL. 

